Aquaman Vol 3 1

"Aquarium": After having been away for several months, Aquaman returns home to Atlantis. Nearing the capital city of Poseidonis, he finds several dead sentries at an outpost. He also discovers remains of a species of jellyfish that he has never encountered before.

Synopsis for "Aquarium"

After having been away for several months, Aquaman returns home to Atlantis. Nearing the capital city of Poseidonis, he finds several dead sentries at an outpost. He also discovers remains of a species of jellyfish that he has never encountered before.

Investigating further, Aquaman draws close to the domed city. He is horrified to find that some mysterious invasion force has taken control of the city and have been using Atlanteans as slave labor. He also discovers that these workers are also dismantling a salt processing plant - one of Atlantis' chief exports. Some nearby guards spot Aquaman and recognizing his costume as an old Atlantean prison uniform, mistake him for an escaped prisoner. They capture him and take him to the Aquarium prison facility.

There, Aquaman mingles with the other prisoners who tell him of the mysterious invaders that laid siege to the city when they were at their most vulnerable. Nobody has ever seen what these invaders look like, but the prisoners know that they have rounded up nomadic tribes of Atlanteans from the surrounding regions and pressed them into service. Even now, Atlantean loyalists are forming a resistance to take back the city.

At the Atlantean Royal Palace, members of the invasion force reveal their true visage: sentient giant jellyfish. Their plan is to insure the genetic purity of the sea by eradicating all Atlanteans.

Meanwhile, at the AHARD-1 hospice center, Mera, former queen of Atlantis, has been languishing away in a locked room reserved for mental patients. Some strange insight flashes into her mind, and she suddenly springs to the door and begins pounding her fists while shouting "He's back! He's back!"

Back at the Aquarium, one of the prisoners decides that if he were to kill Aquaman, then he would have bargaining power with the invaders. He ambushes Aquaman and the two begin fighting. One of the other prisoners, a resistance fighter named Jared, comes to Aquaman's aid just as he finishes off his attacker. Jared tells Aquaman their plans for the resistance.

Notes

Issue includes part one of a four-part editorial on the history of Aquaman by Mark Waid.

Links and References

↑This issue indicates that Vulko was killed during the Atlantean uprising. This is later proven to be a falsehood perpetuated by the giant jellyfish in order to reduce morale. Vulko appears next in Aquaman (Volume 4) #1